Rising Skepticism in Japan to "Postpone Tokyo Olympics"... Japanese Government Says "Holding as Scheduled"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Amid the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has continuously expressed his intention to hold the Tokyo Olympics as planned, but public opinion in Japan appears to be largely in favor of postponement.

According to a telephone survey conducted by Asahi Shimbun from the 15th to 16th among about 2,300 Japanese voters, 63% responded that it would be better to postpone the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics scheduled for July this year. Those who thought it would be better to hold the games as planned accounted for 23%, and those who thought cancellation would be better accounted for 9%. In a recent survey conducted by Kyodo News, 69.9% responded that they believe the Olympics cannot be held as scheduled.

However, the Japanese government continues to show its determination to hold the games normally. Prime Minister Abe emphasized during a video conference with the Group of Seven (G7) leaders the day before that the Olympics was on the agenda and said, "We have gained the support of the G7 to realize the Olympics in its complete form as proof that humanity has overcome COVID-19."

Yoshihide Suga, Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, also said at a regular press conference that morning, when asked if there was any change in Prime Minister Abe’s view of holding the Tokyo Olympics as scheduled in July, "As the Prime Minister said yesterday," and added, "The government has no intention of changing its plan to prepare steadily in close cooperation with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the organizing committee, and Tokyo Metropolitan Government to hold the games as scheduled."

When asked whether the "complete form" of the games mentioned by Prime Minister Abe meant holding the games without spectators or reducing the number of events, or the way the games have been held so far, Suga replied, "It means holding the games as they have been held until now."

Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga also said that he heard that the G7 leaders did not express opinions about postponing the Olympics during the video conference and added that he received a report that the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee plans to hold the torch relay event in Fukushima Prefecture on the 26th as scheduled.

Meanwhile, the IOC has suspended the European regional qualifiers for boxing, a sport for Tokyo Olympic participation, due to the spread of COVID-19. Until that morning, the IOC’s Boxing Task Force (BTF) had planned to hold the matches without spectators, but ultimately decided to cancel, stating that "the protection of athletes, officials, and all other participants is the top priority." The IOC has convened an emergency video conference on the 17th with representatives of international federations (IFs) of each sport to prepare countermeasures against the global spread of COVID-19.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.